FROM THIS EPISODE

President Obama is on the road today, taking the messages of last night's State of the Union speech to voters across the country. We summarize the results, get partisan reactions and hear from Americans in different parts of the country. Also, Egyptians were back in Tahrir Square today, one year since the beginning of protests that ousted a dictator. We update current opinion.

Banner image: President Barack Obama speaks after touring the Conveyor Engineering & Manufacturing plant in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on January 25, 2012. Obama kicked off a three-day five-states tour, a day after his State of Union speech. Photo by Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images

President Obama told Congress and the American people last night that, "the state of our Union is getting stronger." It was an upbeat message in marked contrast to the doom and gloom expressed by Republican challengers in town halls, television ads and 18 televised debates. The President asked for unity, but acknowledged partisan gridlock, and advocated tax reforms that sounded tailored to fit Mitt Romney. We hear excerpts and political analysis, and talk to Americans outside the Beltway what they heard when their President spoke to them. (This story was informed in part from sources in the Public Insight Network.)

It's been a year since the start of a revolution that may still be in process. Cairo's Tahrir Square was full of people today, some celebrated while others mourned. Thirty years of Hosni Mubarak's one-man rule in Egypt have come to an end, but many died, and the military is still in charge. We get a progress report and perspectives from Leila Fadel, Cairo Bureau Chief for the Washington Post, and Dalia Mogahed, Director of the Abu Dhabi Gallup Center.

In his State of the Union address last night, President Obama told a joint session of Congress that he inherited an economy in free fall. He said, "The state of the union is getting better," even though partisan differences have thwarted his efforts to make it better still. He used the SEAL team that killed Osama bin Laden to call for unity. George Condon is White House correspondent for National Journal.